taxis to limousines to bicycle rentals, moving vans, and long-haul transport of refrigerated goods, the transportation industry has a wide range of entry points. Whatever your particular interest is, there is likely a transportation business that can fulfill it.
But first, let’s look at small business as a whole.
The Current State of Small Business in America
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, small businesses (defined as those with 250 or fewer employees) employ 56.1 million of the nation’s private workforce. Firms with fewer than 100 employees make up the largest part of small-business employment.
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According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the value of freight carried by all modes of freight transportation (air, ship, pipeline, rail, and truck) was lower in 2015 than 2014.
That said, small business is far from immune to the ups and downs of business cycles. It has taken a while for the small-business sector to recover from the recession in the late 2000s. Just in 2015 did birthing of companies exceed the exit rate, a trend not seen since 2007 according to Business.com. “Small businesses are the forefront of our economy. . . . Every minute, a new business in the U.S. is started and according to some people, more than 50% of all workers will be self-employed by 2020.” (“The State of Small Business in 2015,” May 5, 2015, by Betsy Scuteri, www.business.com.)
Wasp Barcode’s “State of Small Business Report” (www.waspbarcode.com) found the following statistics:
The Small Business Administration (SBA)
With statistics like the ones from the U.S. Census Bureau showing that small businesses, homebased or not are responsible for the employment of 56.1 million people, it’s no wonder the U.S. government has an administration devoted to small businesses. Anyone thinking about starting a business should have the SBA (www.sba.gov) bookmarked for quick access. There is a wealth of information on this site; you couldn’t do much better than to start your small business research here.
fun fact
Trucks carried 59.1 percent of the $48.3 billion of freight to and from Canada in September 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
The Small Business Administration started in 1953. It is an independent agency of the federal government helping Americans start and grow small businesses through field offices throughout the U.S. and its territories. The SBA was designed by Congress to also ensure that small businesses get a “fair proportion” of government contracts and sales of surplus property. You can quickly see that using the SBA to its fullest is only to any small business’s advantage.
Through the years, the SBA has met current challenges in the small-business arena such as focusing on minority- and women-owned businesses with special programs and education to help these businesses thrive. They publish a Small Business Resource magazine and annual national resource guides. These resources contain educational information on things like how to apply for a government contract and keep you up to date on current legislation and advocacy on behalf of small businesses, as well as some small-business basics like advice on creating a business plan and how to obtain financing.
The SBA was created for you. You will do yourself a favor by referring to their site and contacting them whenever something comes up in the startup phase or as you establish your transportation business.
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According to the SBA, each state has a portal dedicated to commercial transportation, to help you understand the regulations your state requires and the assistance your state provides.
Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE)
Imagine 13,000 volunteer mentors at the service of the small-business world. That’s what the nonprofit organization SCORE (www.score.org), formed in 1964, is all about. There are almost 400 SCORE
